Tobacco: Cigarettes, RYO, E-Cigarettes & Lighters 2014

Where the Gains Are

C-store sales, 52 weeks ending Dec. 29, 2013

C-store sales of cigarettes fell 1.4%, with units off more than 2% in 2013, according to IRI. The biggest areas of growth in the category could be found in smokeless—unit sales rose nearly 4% for chewing tobacco and snuff, with spitless tobacco up almost 3%. Electronic smoking devices—IRI’s term for e-cigarettes—rose by triple-digit percentages on an expanding base, hitting more than $530 million in sales for 2013.

Roll-your-own (RYO) underperformed in 2013, with dollars off more than 15% and units down more than 16%. Pipe tobacco, however, enjoyed a more than 15% increase in unit sales, according to IRI.

Category

C-store sales ($ millions)

PCYA

Unit sales (millions)

PCYA

Cigarettes

$51,643.7

-1.4%

8,546.7

-2.1%

Chewing tobacco/snuff

$5,004.1

7.7%

1,214.9

3.8%

Spitless tobacco

$181.4

3.9%

52.4

2.8%

Total smokeless
tobacco

$5,185.4

7.6%

1,267.3

3.8%

Cigars

$2,352.6

-2.7%

1,509.2

2.0%

Electronic smoking
devices

$530.4

176.5%

49.2

203.8%

Pipe tobacco

$75.7

7.6%

9.9

15.3%

Roll-your-own (RYO)
tobacco

$58.5

-15.2%

11.2

-16.3%

Total all other
tobacco products

$134.2

-3.6%

21.0

-3.9%

Lighters

$538.6

2.8%

368.5

0.1%

Smoking accessories
(pipes, etc.)

$249.6

-2.4%

158.7

-5.1%

Source: IRI

Distributor Data: Cigarettes

Calendar year 2013

Shipments of cigarettes from McLane were off 4.5% in 2013, in dollar terms of average shipments per store per week, with all segments down from the previous year. E-cigarette shipments, meanwhile, rose by nearly 187%.

Segment

Avg. shipments per store per week (in dollars)

Avg. shipments per store per week (dollar growth)

PCYA

Premium

$6,659.80

-$328.01

-4.7%

Generic

$1,390.60

-$49.29

-3.4%

Subgeneric

$140.87

-$3.09

-2.2%

Private label

$25.14

-$4.84

-16.2%

Total

$8,216.41

-$385.24

-4.5%

Electronic cigarettes

$60.32

$39.28

186.7%

Source: McLane Co.

Distributor Data: Premium Cigarettes (C-Stores & Travel Plazas)

Calendar year 2013

The No. 1 premium cigarette UPC shipped by McLane in 2013 was the Marlboro Gold Box King. The Marlboro brand made up 60% of premium-cigarette cartons shipped by McLane.